Riding the C-wave: Chinese films make headway in Singapore, but challenges remain (2025)

SINGAPORE – Chinese pop music might be hitting a high note in Singapore, and C-dramas are giving K-dramas a run for their money.

But when it comes to films from China, it is a different story. They are starting from a modest base, but gaining ground.

Two recent Chinese New Year releases give a snapshot of the current state of these movies’ popularity.

Fantasy epic Creation Of The Gods II: Demon Force and action comedy Detective Chinatown 1900 both opened in Singapore cinemas on Jan 29. Over Feb 6 to 9, they rose to the first and second positions respectively at the local box office.

As at Feb 10, Creation Of The Gods II, co-produced by China-based Alibaba Pictures, has earned a respectable $1.1 million, while Detective Chinatown 1900, from Beijing-headquartered Wanda Film, has netted $700,000.

A spokesman for mm2 Entertainment, the distributor for both films in Singapore, says these sequels come with a ready-made audience.

Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms (2023) and the Detective Chinatown film series (2015 to present) have built a fan base since their releases.

“The older movies are available on streaming services like Netflix, so people are naturally interested when the new films are released,” adds the spokesman.

He also attributed their success here to positive word of mouth on social media, which spoke highly of the films’ strong production values and solid cast.

Starring Yu Shi and Fei Xiang, Creation Of The Gods is a planned three-part film series adapted from the 16th-century novel Investiture Of The Gods, and has been likened to a Chinese mythology version of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy (2001 to 2003).

In the movies, humans, immortals and monsters engage in wars and political intrigue. The final film, Creation Under Heaven, is expected in 2027.

The Detective Chinatown film series stars Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran as detectives who visit Chinese communities around the world, solving crimes. The new instalment of the slapstick-heavy comedy is a prequel set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, where the two are met by a society drenched in anti-Chinese prejudice.

The rise of Chinese movies can also be seen in the record-breaking box office of the animated sequel Ne Zha 2. Since its release in China on Jan 29, the action fantasy, also loosely inspired by Investiture Of The Gods, has grossed over 7.7 billion yuan (S$1.43 billion) in earnings as at Feb 9.

It has set domestic and global records, including highest-grossing film in a single market, first non-Hollywood film to exceed US$1 billion (S$1.35 billion) in a single market and the highest-grossing non-English-language film of all time.

A check with local film distributors shows that none have plans to release the follow-up to Ne Zha (2019) in Singapore.

Producer-distributor Summer Shi – she is the founder of Cineaste Production House, an indie label specialising in the distribution of award-winning films from China – says that in Singapore, there are a few linguistic and cultural roadblocks to overcome before Chinese movies can be as widely accepted as those from other countries.

Since 2023, her company has brought in films such as the drama Black Dog (2024), winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and period crime thriller A Long Shot (2023).

Ms Shi reckons that most who attended screenings of Black Dog – despite it starring Taiwanese heart-throb Eddie Peng – were Chinese nationals living in Singapore.

But she remains optimistic.

“The number of Singaporean viewers, especially those who are proficient in Chinese, is increasing,” she says.

She hopes that as the reputation of Chinese films grows, bolstered by the phenomenal success of films like Ne Zha 2 and the Creation Of The Gods trilogy, the “made in China” label will gain more support.

Until then, she copes with obstacles, such as major cinema chains not responding to requests for venues. Black Dog was screened exclusively at indie cinema The Projector.

“There is still limited awareness in Singapore of films produced in mainland China, but I will continue to introduce quality films to local audiences.”

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